Unspoken
by saresare
Summary: Set in between season three and four when the rescue missions fail. You can probably guess what happens. Secker - apparently a lot of people cry when reading this. Name changed from "Why?"


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UNSPOKEN  


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_by saresare_

So I promised myself I'd have an early night tonight. Instead I stayed up until 1:30 am to finish this. My priorities are pretty clear.  
This is the rescue missions set in between season three and four. For all the aggrieved Secker fans. I hope I haven't done a too awful job.  
Name changed from "Why?"  
Edit: I just had a look at the story stats. 120 visitors in 2 days! OMG! PLEASE REVIEW.

**DISCLAIMER:** I own nothing.

**RATING:** T  
**Contains: **Severe angst, violence, character death, mild swearing

**STATUS: **One-shot**  
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**SPOILERS:  
**Episodes 3.9, 3.10, 4.1

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"Becker, they're my friends too!"

"Sarah, it's far too dangerous. You are staying _here_." Becker gestured to another solider and pointed to her. "Wrestle her to the ground if you have to."

The soldier nodded and pointedly took his position beside Sarah.

"I can't just sit here and do nothing! I want to help!" she insisted.

Becker gazed down at her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Getting yourself killed isn't going to help them. If you want to do something, decipher Helen's diary. Try and find out what she's up to."

For a few seconds they just stood there staring intently at each other, brown eyes boring into brown eyes. Finally Sarah pushed past Becker and walked off with a huff. A poignant knot formed in his chest as he watched her leave. He sighed and shook his head. "I'm not losing you too," he murmured to himself.

He turned to the soldier in charge of the locking mechanism and nodded. Several buttons later the anomaly burst into the familiar floating shards of light. Becker summoned the rescue squadron to him and together they disappeared through the anomaly.

xxx

Sarah watched as the rescue team entered the ARC, scanning the mass of black-clad men for Becker. She found him at the back, following his men into the main room looking exhausted and miserable.

Lester approached Becker. "No luck then?" he said.

Becker shook his head. "We had to abandon the search once it got dark. It would have been suicide to keep going." He fiddled with his gun as he spoke, clearly upset though he tried to hide it. "I'm not giving up on them. As soon as it's light again, I'm going back in. I _will_ find them, whatever it takes."

"Be careful, won't you? I've got enough paperwork as it is at the moment, I don't need any more if you die."

"Yes, Sir. No extra paperwork."

One of the technicians came up beside Lester. "Minister's on the phone for you," she reported.

Lester groaned and turned to leave, but noticed Sarah skirting around the soldiers to reach them and turned back to Becker. "And, uh, try not to get too distracted." When Becker raised an eyebrow questioningly, he added, "I know it's difficult, being the emotional retard that you are, but remember you have a job to do." Before Becker could retort he marched away to take the minister's call.

"Hey."

Becker glanced to his right to see Sarah had appeared beside him. "Do you think I'm an emotional retard?" he asked.

"Yeah, of course," Sarah joked. She handed him a bottle of beer. "You look dreadful, thought you might want this."

Becker took it uncertainly. "Um, thanks."

Sarah flicked the lid off her own bottle and took a sip. "We'll find them," she maintained, moving to sit on a nearby desk.

Becker took a seat beside her, leaning back on his free hand and taking a sip. "We?"

"Yes, _we_. We're in this together, Becker, whether you like it or not." She lowered her hand to the desk, accidentally brushing it against Becker's as she did so. There was a brief second of hesitation before she moved it away again.

"I never said …" Becker began.

Sarah removed Helen's diary from her jacket pocket and flipped it open to a page near the end. "Look at this," she said, pointing to a photograph of what appeared to be fossilised primate bones. Above it, written in a messy scrawl, was '_A. afarensis_' and the number 333. Below it was '_C__2__H__8__N__2__O__4_'.

"I did some research, site 333 is the name given to the Rift Valley in Africa where they found the remains of a family of _A. afarensis_, who all died simultaneously of unknown causes in the Pliocene era. They were known as the 'first family of hominids'; apparently they began the course of human evolution."

Becker frowned. "So …?"

Sarah pointed to the chemical formula. "I looked this up. It's an industrial powder called ammonium oxalate used to manufacture explosives. It's incredibly toxic."

Becker's eyes widened in shock as he registered what she was saying. "She's gone to kill our ancestors?"

Sarah didn't reply; she just turned the page to reveal a hominid evolutionary tree. The human branch was scribbled out.

"Bitch," Becker breathed. He shook his head in disbelief.

Sarah closed the diary and slipped it back inside her jacket pocket with a grunt of agreement.

"They must have stopped her, then," Becker said. "We're still here."

Sarah offered him a weak smile. "Apparently." She rested her head on his shoulder. "They're alive, I know it."

Becker peered down at her. "So I take it you're not angry at me anymore?" he ventured.

She grinned and swung her arm up to cuff him. "Of course I am." He flinched slightly, so small it was almost unnoticeable, but Sarah did notice it. She sat up and asked, "what?"

"Nothing, just a bit bruised," he said. "The creatures there are absolutely horrible."

Sarah pressed her lips into a line. "I'm coming with you tomorrow."

"Sarah!" Becker looked at her angrily. "No, you are _not_. Three people have already disappeared from going through that anomaly. You are _NOT_ going through it as well."

"Why not?" Sarah snapped defensively.

Becker jumped off the table and rounded at her. "Because you'll get hurt!" he shouted.

She glared at him with irritation. "You don't trust me," she accused.

Becker's eyes flashed with hurt for a moment. "I trust you, Sarah. But that doesn't mean you can go risking your life. You don't even know how to use a gun."

Sarah slid off the desk and stepped toward him, her face so close to his they were almost touching. "Then teach me."

Becker stared down at her; she stared up at him. Mutual frustration passed between the two, each desperate for the other to back down.

Finally Becker spoke. "No. I'm not losing you too."

"I want to help get them back."

"Sarah, we got chased by some of those … those creatures. You know how dangerous it is."

She stepped backwards, flailing her arms as she seethed. "I'm sick of being stuck in this damn office all day," she exclaimed heatedly, "not knowing who's going to return alive. I want to be there, fighting at the frontline with everyone else. I'm sick of feeling so useless, so … _unwanted_."

Becker was about to interject at that last word but she kept going. "I can help," she continued, "if you just give me a chance, Becker. I want to help. I'm as much a part of this team as you are."

Becker closed his eyes and exhaled, struggling with the emotions burning a hole in his chest. He opened his eyes again and leant closer to her. "And what happens if you get hurt, hm?"

"I won't. You wouldn't let that happen."

xxx

Sarah gasped as she took in the sight of decrepit buildings, rusted cars and a lifeless expanse of dirt. There was an ominous gloominess hanging around the place; even the air was depressing.

"This is our future?" she whispered in horror.

"Apparently," Becker replied, cocking his gun. "Now, keep your voice down. And stick close to me. Don't, I repeat _don't_, go wandering off."

Sarah scowled at him. He began signalling to his soldiers and giving instructions. The squadron split into three teams, five men on each.

She and Becker darted off through the alleyway, flanked by four soldiers. Sarah dodged around a dilapidated car, the fear pulsating through her body. The predators sensed heartbeats, and she was sure her own frantic drumming wasn't helping.

As if on cue Becker shouted, "stun bomb!" and hurled a grenade upward, slamming his hands over his ears. Sarah copied the gesture, glancing upward to see half a dozen frenetic grey figures climbing down the building. The grenade detonated and the alley filled with the piercing ring. The predators dropped to the ground and lay there motionless.

Becker nodded to his men and they continued along the road, coming to a halt outside a stocky wooden door. Becker kicked it open and they swarmed inside, waving their guns around. They marched through the building, inspecting every room and dark corner for any sign of their colleagues.

"Wait," Becker ordered. "Where the hell is Sarah?"

"Becker! Come and look at this!" Sarah's voice came from just a few metres away.

Becker turned around and saw her crouched over beside a control panel of some sort. He joined her and sighed at the shattered glass littering the floor. "I don't believe it," he growled.

Sarah held up the broken artefact. "Oh no," she murmured. She stood up and scrutinised her surroundings. "They've been here." She gestured toward the control panel. "Look, look at this. It's a hexagonal socket."

"For the artefact?" Becker asked.

"Maybe."

"But then what's this computer for?"

"Um, maybe …" Sarah wracked her brain for a suggestion. "Well the artefact was a key in predicting anomalies, right? Maybe this computer, I don't know, stores the information. That thing that Helen had that opens anomalies, maybe it gets the anomaly coordinates from the artefact. Like, like a USB."

"That's why she needed the artefact," Becker elaborated.

A shrill beeping filled the room. "The oscilloscope," one of the soldiers exclaimed.

Becker and Sarah spun around to see the man vanish under a mass of glinting claws and ripping teeth. The rattle of gunfire mixed with his screams and the predator leapt onto the roof, deftly dodging the barrage of bullets. Out of the corner of his eye Becker saw other movement and glimpsed three more creatures stalking down a hallway toward them.

"Retreat!" Becker barked. "Everyone, out now!" He peered down at the sightless eyes of the fallen soldier, guilt filling him.

He shoved Sarah ahead of him, urging her to move faster. He heard the clicking of the predators and fired a blind shot behind him; a snarl of pain sounded but there was no thump. Becker burst out of the building, grabbed a stun grenade and pitched it inside. "Stun bomb!" he warned. The explosion rendered the creatures unconscious and he breathed a sigh of relief.

_She's safe_, he thought with a weak laugh.

"Captain, the anomaly's closing!"

Becker looked up and saw that the ball of light was indeed pulsating. "Right, the mission has to be abandoned," he ordered regretfully. He pressed his finger to his ear piece. "Abort, the anomaly's closing," he informed the other two parties. "Get your men back _now_."

"Becker, you can't!" Sarah cried. "We can't just leave them here!"

"Sarah, I don't want to go any more than you do, but if we get trapped here we'll die." He indicated for the three soldiers to fan out ahead. "Now come on." When she didn't move, he let out an agitated sigh. "Come on, Sarah, be rational … Sarah?"

Her eyes were too wide for his liking. He twisted around too late to see the giant insect launch itself over his head and knock her to the ground. "Becker!" she screamed. "BECKER!"

The megopteran collapsed on top of her as Becker instinctively filled it with bullets. He pushed it off her, absolute terror filling him as he saw the extent of the mauling. Her shirt had giant bloody rips in it and a slash on her throat was draining her of blood very quickly. She shook violently and stared up at him, her eyes showing nothing but fear and pain. Becker knew from Sandhurst that her wounds were fatal, but he lied to himself.

"Sarah," he cried. "Sarah!"

"Never did like bugs," Sarah whispered, the words stuttered and slurring together as she fought to take another breath.

Becker made to take her in his arms, to carry her home, but just touching her made her shriek in agony.

"Sarah, you're going to be fine," Becker insisted, his voice breaking. "Just stay awake, Sarah. You can do this."

She struggled to speak again. "Beh … Beck …" She choked on his name and coughed up blood. "No ... dying," she whispered.

"You're not dying!" Becker yelled, moving forward to try picking her up again, but instead she reached out and grabbed at his hand. He slipped his fingers between hers; instantly her grip was like a vice, crushing down frantically around his hand. He just squeezed it, ignoring the blood now covering him, and locked his eyes on her's. "You _can't_ die," he stated. "You _can't_." His battle to hold in the tears was lost.

It was almost too weak and incoherent to understand, but Becker barely caught the strangled word she exhaled. "Why?"

"Because … I love you."

Her listless brown eyes flashed momentarily with life again. She opened her mouth, struggling to say something, but all that came out was a series of violent bloody coughs. Becker watched in anguish as the light faded from her eyes and the grip on his hand went slack. He pulled her into him and just sat there cradling her body, forgetting to stifle the cascade of tears flowing down his cheeks.

"Captain, what are you doing? The anomaly's almost gone!"

Becker stood up, holding Sarah's limp form in his arms. The soldier gave him an apologetic glance as he led his commander to the cliff edge. Becker stepped through the anomaly just as it closed.

He stumbled to the wall of the annex and slid down it. He peered down at Sarah, the raw grief shredding his heart into as many pieces as the artefact. He brushed his fingertips down across her eyelids and closed her eyes. Never again would he see those chocolate stars sparkle.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.


End file.
